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Monthly Archives: June 2014

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is a romantic comedy that mostly revolves around Mizutani Shizuku and Yoshida Haru. Shizuku has no interest for anything except studying. One day, she is tasked to deliver printouts to Haru, her classmate who hasn’t attended school for a long time, and is immediately greeted as a friend. Later, they make friends with their classmates Natsume Ayano and Sohei Sasahara, nicknamed “Sasayan”. This anime focuses on the ups and downs of the relationship between Shizuku and Haru.

I’ve read the manga before watching the anime, though I stopped halfway because it was getting too roundabout. It’s a bit like the two of them are passing the love baton around, and that they’re never on the same page. Still, I love Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun because of its humour. It’ the best romantic comedy I’ve watched so far. Shizuku’s indecisiveness about her feelings towards Haru is a bit annoying, but the humour and the rest of the characters make up for that. The fact that Nagoya the rooster played a significant role into the development of friendship among the characters is strange, but in a good way. I think what makes the series so hilarious is Haru’s naivety and eccentric behaviour.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is the only shoujo anime where I never detested the ‘rivals’. I never hated Ooshima or Yamaken. Ooshima doesn’t do anything wrong and keeps her distance. Yamaken, well, he’s pretty funny in the way that he gets lost very easily but doesn’t like to ask for help. In other anime, I would be telling the rivals off in my mind, threatening them to stay away from the main characters (okay that’s a bit extreme). Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun manages to make all the characters likable. Yamaken and his friends never got any hate from me even from the beginning.

This ending of the anime was pleasant. Shizuku might still be confused about her true feelings, but Haru just enjoys being with her so it’s fine. With only thirteen episodes, many people feel that it deserves a season two, but since it’s a shoujo anime, I think it’s enough. I’m quite contented with the ending of the series already. I might return to the manga in the future once it’s completed so I know what really happens to Shizuku and Haru in the end. To be honest, I’m more interested in what happens to Natsume. I know she likes Mi-chan, but I’m sure Sasayan likes her. It’s likely that Shizuku and Haru’s relationship will continue to be a bit “on and off” so I think whatever happens to Natsume is more interesting.

I’ve been asking myself this recently – why did I choose to take Literature as one of my subjects? It’s like a completely different version from what I studied before. It’s forcing me to think deeper, to try to grasp what the author is trying to imply. Unfortunately, things aren’t going very well. While attempting to think deeper, I feel that I am drowning in a sea of question marks. I constantly feel intimidated by the works of others. I often wonder how they manage to magically craft essays with such beautiful phrases. Why am I so inferior?

Another thought that floated in my mind is why anime could not be part of my curriculum. Why couldn’t Literature test us about anime instead of such puzzling and infuriating poems and extracts? Why can’t the question be on “Write a critical commentary on the following anime extract”? I would look forward to every assignment.

However, what has been done cannot be undone. In this beautiful cruel world, we encounter many obstacles that trap us in a net of regrets. Yet, in this beautiful cruel world, we can change things for the better. Who says that anime can’t be weaved into our daily lives? We don’t watch anime purely for entertainment. Contrary to what most people think, anime does embed certain positive values on us. Shingeki no Kyojin proves to be an inspiring supplier of motivation for me.

“On that day, mankind received a grim reminder. We lived in fear of the titans, and were disgraced to live in these cages we called walls.”– Eren Jaeger

I’ve always felt that Shingeki no Kyojin was a reflection on modern society. It might be set in a different time, but the idea is the same. No world is completely peaceful. After living safely within the walls for years, the Titans have come to invade their territory and to exterminate the entire human population. The Titans in the real world are the obstacles we face in life.

“If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. If you don’t fight, you can’t win!”– Eren Jaeger

Running away won’t solve any problems. It’s only by fighting the Titans in our heart that we can get rid of our worries. I tell myself that my homework and exams are Titans. Each of them are classified into different types of Titans, depending on their difficulty. For normal homework, I label them as three-metre tall Titans, the smallest ones. For for difficult ones, I call them ten-metre tall Titans, etc. My school exams are represented by the Armoured Titan while national exams are represented as the Colossal Titan. Whenever I complete a task, I motivate myself by saying what Titan I’ve defeated.

“People who can’t throw something important away, can never hope to change anything.”– Armin Arlet

One of my flaws is my procrastination. Sometimes, even when I’m supposed to be doing revision, my mind would drift off to anime. The quote mentioned above caught my attention. If I don’t throw something important away, like the time spent watching anime (when I shouldn’t), I would never be able to change my grades. In this pragmatic society, where good grades are the key to success, I would ruin my future if I don’t change my ways.

Most importantly, the first opening, Guren no Yumiya, is extremely inspiring. If you search for the English lyrics, there’s a stanza that goes like this:

Draw the bow and chase it, don’t let the enemy escape
Fire the arrow and corner it, never let the enemy escape
The bowstring pulled until it is about to snap
Endless volleys continued, until the target drops dead

We are the hunters, everyone, so pick up your crimson bow and arrow and let’s defeat all the Titans together.